Sue's TRAVEL NOTES & PHOTOS: Part 2 - Pacific Cruise - "Oosterdam"

Sunday 21 April 2013
Apia, Samoa
Today we went on a ship excursion in small air-conditioned buses to visit Robert Louis Stevenson's house. It was a very hot and humid day. We first stopped at a fish market where the locals sell salmon, coral trout and tuna.

Fish Market - Apia, Samoa

Peter with our guide

Hot and humid day!

We visited the Parliament buildings and heard about the Samoan culture - very family orientated and religious. There were churches everywhere and it was surprising to hear that family members are buried in the front yards. There were tombstones everywhere.

Legislative Assembly

Robert Louis Stevenson's home was surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens. He built the house and even put in fireplaces to remind him of his home in Scotland. At his request he was buried on top of the hill overlooking Apia.

Robert Louis Stevenson's home

The end of Cannibalism

Sunday 21 April 2013
Pago Pago, American Samoa – a beautiful picturesque island – houses perched on the slopes overlooking the water – a very hot and steamy day as we boarded strange looking wooden buses decorated with flowers for a tour of the island and a visit to a craft market and Samoan Village – we are real tourist – our guide was very informative and we had a great day learning about the Samoan way of life. The Tsunami had devastated the island in 2009, but most buildings have been restored. We drove along the coast and then up into the hills to a village – thick tropical trees and shrubs similar to Queensland, so we felt very much at home. We saw a demonstration of how the local food is cooked in hot stone ovens covered with coconut palms and for lunch we had chicken, banana, tuna and coconut milk, bread fruit that tasted delicious. Followed of course by singing and dancing by the local men and women.

Craft Market

Our lunch of chicken and fish cooked

Samoan style in an above-ground umu (oven).

Our transport, Samoa

Sailaway from Pago Pago, American Samoa

Back on the ship for our first 5 days stretch at sea before reaching the Hawaiian Islands. I won’t go into details of how these days were spent. We went to a few informative lectures in the mornings – “Explorers of the Pacific”, but after a while we just preferred to relax and chat to people and not be on a timeline.

Thursday 25 April 2013
About 100 Aussies and New Zealanders gathered on deck for the Anzac Service.

Saturday 27 April 2013
Our first Hawaiian island stop was Kauai, the port of Nawiliwili - the most amazing scenery – the movies, Jurassic Park and Blue Hawaii were filmed here. We went to a wonderful Tropical garden, the McBryde and Allerton Gardens. We absolutely loved it – beautifully designed outdoor rooms using lakes, fountains, sculptures, plants – surrounded by Tropical plants. Every plant was brought to the island. We had lunch in a covered area in the middle of the gardens. It is run by the National Tropical Botanical Garden in conjunction with leading botanical organizations worldwide and is dedicated to protecting endangered species.

Entrance to the McBryde & Allerton Gardens

The McBryde and Allerton Gardens were the most beautifully designed gardens I have ever seen - ponds, waterfalls, plants, sculptures - arranged to form outdoor rooms with a European flavour but with tropical plants - bouganvillia, allamanda, fig trees, hibiscus, palm trees and bamboo to name a few.

"Blue Hawaii" filmed here

"Jurassic Park" filmed here.

Back on the ship, we had a cup of tea in the Lido Restaurant

Loved watching the tugs!

The pilot leaves the ship

Sunday 28 April 2013
Our next Hawaiian Island was O'ahu, the port of Honolulu – we went on an all day tour around the island. A wonderful day, felt as though we were home – beautiful white sandy beaches and board riders at Diamond Head, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay –then into the mountains along the Pali Highway to see areas similar to Lower Beechmont. We had lunch at the Kualoa Ranch overlooking Turtle Bay and visited a Macadamia Plantation and a Pineapple Plantation- tourist traps!!